Don’t watch the news, it kills creativity
I have a confession to make: I’m a news junkie. I like to know what’s going on in the world. In the morning, before heading off for work, I’ll watch the morning news while eating breakfast. At night I’ll turn it on to make sure the world is still spinning. Over time, however, I have noticed there is an inverse relationship between news and creativity: The more news I watch, the more my creativity goes down.
What the hell am I talking about? I’ll try to explain it better. The news is usually (with the exception of those special interest segments) very negative with stories about crime, violence, death, war and so on. Bring politics and/or religion into the mix and the news gets very heated very fast. I find that my feathers get ruffled and I’ll sit there and stew in anger about a news story I just watched.
My energy becomes focused on that piece of news and I lose all interest in writing, poetry and my other creative endeavors. I’m now making a conscious effort to watch less news. The results have been good. I’m finding myself writing more and thinking of better ideas for my various projects. In other words, I’m more inspired and feel more creativity running through my veins.
This also brings up the broader argument about the distraction and waste of time that television poses. I’m always surprised at the large number of people who say they don’t own a television. Whenever they feel like watching something, they fire up the computer and watch a DVD or jump onto sites like Hulu for free shows.
I’m not 100% against television, but I think it can become a crutch for boredom. Lately I’ve been spending my time in the evenings reading instead of watching any number of mindless sitcoms.
Do you find that watching the news, or television in general kills your creativity? Leave a comment below and share your experience. Inquiring minds want to know.
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